A couple of months ago, I started getting winded on low-intensity walks with my dog. My Fitbit told me why. Hint: it's related to menopause.
October is Menopause Awareness Month, so let's start with the basics. Menopause occurs when it has been 12 months since a woman's last period. However, the "transition" to menopause includes perimenopause, the years leading up to that milestone, and post-menopause, the years after that date.
The symptoms women experience during this time are caused by large, erratic fluctuations of the reproductive hormones: estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, but primarily estrogen. These fluctuating hormones affect many body systems, not just the reproductive system. They can cause vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes, and they can affect sleep, mood (including anxiety and depression), brain function, bone density, muscle mass, libido, and sexual and urinary function.
The key message here is that it's essential for women to find and receive support during this transition. Trying to push through without answers, unsupported and alone, makes this transition a thousand times more difficult.
When a woman is connected with supportive community groups, providers, and leaders in this area, she will feel informed, empowered, and encouraged to move into her next chapter feeling vibrant and healthy.
Start Here: Track Your Symptoms
Tracking symptoms and observing changes is my biggest recommendation for women, even before they start coaching. Keep a notebook or a note on your phone to record nights you didn't sleep well, possible triggers, and how you felt the next day. Log your hot flashes, anxiety, headaches, joint pain, and more. All of this data helps us create your coaching plan, and it gives your doctor essential information to help treat your symptoms. Concrete data and possible triggers give doctors a direction, rather than vague health complaints.
If you already have a wearable device, even better. You can share graphs and patterns over time with your health coach and your doctor. However, you should also log your subjective experience: how you felt as these symptoms were happening.
A Story from My Own Transition
Here's what happened. I recently started taking progesterone, in addition to the other hormone therapy I was already receiving. Everything was fine. My sleep improved. Life was good. Then I noticed I was starting to feel short of breath on walks and was experiencing a racing heart for no apparent reason. This was not my normal fitness experience; I work out regularly with strength training and cardio.
I checked my Fitbit data for the past week, the last three months, and the last year, and I noticed that my resting heart rate started rising soon after I began taking progesterone. I had data. I sent it to both my primary care provider and my gynecologist. Working with both doctors, I was able to get the appropriate tests to check my heart and rule out any heart issues, and to change the dose and form of my progesterone prescription to eliminate possible side effects.
Through subjective observation and objective data, I was able to work with my doctors to address what was happening in my body. They could assess the situation and then adjust my plan. Being able to advocate for my health is an empowering feeling.
This is my personal experience, not medical advice. Always work with your doctor on the hormone therapy dosing that is best for you.
What Is a Menopause Health Coach?
A Certified Menopause Coaching Specialist is a professional who has completed specialized training to help women navigate perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause through education, symptom tracking, emotional support, and lifestyle changes, including strength training and nutrition. Unlike a physician, a menopause coach does not diagnose medical conditions, prescribe medications, or manage hormone therapy.
How a Menopause Health Coach Helps
A menopause health coach supports women through perimenopause and menopause with practical, sustainable changes in areas like these:
- Sleep: building routines that support better rest
- Nutrition: getting adequate protein, fiber, phytoestrogens, and gut-supporting foods
- Movement: starting or adjusting a strength-training routine and modifying existing exercise plans
- Stress relief: building habits that support the nervous system, including yoga, body awareness, and breathwork
- Symptom tracking: systems and resources for tracking symptoms and preparing for conversations with medical providers
- Connection: listening, validating, supporting, and connecting women with each other so they aren't navigating this transition alone
Along with one-on-one coaching, I lead community-based support groups, providing a structure for conversation, answering questions as they come up, and holding space for the group. These are held monthly in various venues and outdoors around the Triangle area of North Carolina.
What Does Working With a Menopause Coach Look Like?
Every coach works a little differently, but most coaching relationships follow a similar path:
- A first conversation. A short call to talk about what's happening for you and whether coaching is a good fit.
- An intake. A questionnaire about your health history, symptoms, and goals, completed on your own or as a conversation.
- Goal setting. Together you choose one to three sustainable goals. Many women come in wanting to change everything at once, but lasting habit change only works when goals are realistic for where you are right now.
- Practice and check-ins. Between sessions you might track symptoms, start a workout plan, or keep a food log. Regular check-ins, in person or virtual, keep you on track, and each goal has a timeline so progress is easy to see.
About Renée
Renée Balyoz, M.Ed., is a menopause health coach who helps women navigate perimenopause and menopause with practical, sustainable changes in sleep, nutrition, movement, and stress management. She is a Certified Menopause Coaching Specialist through Girls Gone Strong and leads monthly community support groups in North Carolina. Renée is an active member of the Menopause Society. Renée holds an M.Ed. from Loyola College in Maryland and a BA in Psychology from North Carolina State University. She is also the founder of Maitri Yoga and Wellness and an E-RYT 500 with Yoga Alliance, with more than 1,200 hours of advanced training in yoga and meditation.
That background shapes her approach to nervous-system support, which is especially valuable during a transition when stress, anxiety, and sleep disruption are so common.
Every woman deserves to feel heard, seen, and empowered. That's exactly how she wants you to feel as you move through perimenopause and menopause.
Learn more about Renée's coaching and community support groups at menocoachrenee.com.
References
- Kling JM, MacLaughlin KL, Schnatz PF, et al. Menopause Management Knowledge in Postgraduate Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Obstetrics and Gynecology Residents: A Cross-Sectional Survey. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2019;94(2):242-253.
- National Institute on Aging. What Is Menopause?
Written By: Renée Balyoz, M.Ed., Certified Menopause Coaching Specialist
Reviewed by: Coprata Team
